LATEST IN LONG LINE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP96B01172R000300020001-7
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 22
• Document Creation Date: December 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: October 2, 2001
• Sequence Number: 1
• Content Type: NSPR

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!L Latest in
long line
. Geoffrey Prime is the latest
in a long line of Iron Curtain
spies since the last war. Major
defections, arrests and scan-
dals show the breadth of the
infiltration by Russia and her
allies:
1946 Dr Alan Nunn May
discovered passing atomic
secrets.
1950 Dr Klaus Fuchs, depart-
mental head at Ilarvvell, also
supplied atomic weapon de-
tails.
1950 17r Bruno Pontecorvo,
another Ilarvvell scientist,
defected.
1951 Donald Maclean, head of
the American Department at
the Foreign Office, and Guy
Burgess, second secretary at
the British Embassy in
Washington, defected.
1958 Brian Linney, an instru-
ment engineer, revealed elec-
tronics secrets.
1961 Portland naval spy-ring
broken to reveal Gordon
Lonsdale as a Russian spy,
and a spy team including Mr
and Mrs Peter Kroger and tao
Admiralty clerks, Ethel Gee
and Ilenry Itoughton.
1961 George Blake found
spying wittrin M16.
1962 William Vassall, Admir-
alty clerk, found passing
defence secrets.
1963 Kim Philby, once a senior
figure in M16, fled to Russia
after admitting treachery.
1964 Sir Anthony Blunt,
Surveyor of the Queen's
Pictures and a former MIS
man, admitted he had worked
-for Russia during the war.
1965 Frank Bossard shown to
have sold Ministry of Aviation
secrets to the Russians.
1968 Douglas Britten, RAF
chief technician, shown to have
provided Russians with infor-
mation on Sigint and GC I IQ.
1971 Nicholas Prager, former
RAF sergeant, found to have
passed V-honiber secrets to
the Russians.
1972 Leonard Hinchcliffe
revealed to have passed
Foreign Office documents to
Russia.
1972- David Bingham, Royal
Navy? sub-lieutenant, found
spying for Russia.
1979 The Blunt affair revealed
publicly in a Commons state-
ment and Professor Blunt
stripped of his knighthood and
honours.
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Espionage and sexual
deviation -secret-lives
of Geoffrey Prime
Geoffrey Prime's secret life'as
a spy was not uncovered until
the first laver of his secret life as
a child molester ' was pcclcd
away. Sir Michael Havers, QC,
the . Attorney General told the
Central Criminal Court. .
After the investigation. fol-
lowing Prime's , arrest for the
Sexual Offences, a further
investigation was instituted, the
Attorney General said. When
the 'defendant's .home., and
personal property was,, beipg
searched the investigating ottic-
crs began to discover material
which suggested that the defgnd-
ant was involved in activities
even more grave than. thesexual
offences.
Recovered from the defend-
ant's wallet were the following
items;
Code pads known as one
time pads' used to receive and
transmit messages in code
t Exhibits I and 2)
A document explaining how
to handle microdots.
A piece of paper with details
of radio frequencies, and
A TOP SECRET' me'mor-
andurn which in no circum-
stances,should have been in the
possession of the defendant.
The police also took pos-
session of a powerful radio, two
recording tapes; a black brief-
case, a carrier bag containing
notebooks, and 26 envelopes
pre-addressed to the Eastern
Sector of Berlin. .
At this stage it is necessary to
say something about the career
of the defendant. .
He -was born at Stoke-on-
Treat and after attending
schools in Staffordshire joined
the Royal Air Force in 1956.
After service in Africa he was
accepted to attend a Russian
language course and qualified in
May, 1964.
In June, 1964, he was posted
to RAF Gatow in West Berlin
where his work was 'of a
classified nature.
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vetting
In 1966 he was promoted to
corporal and in 1968 to
sergeant. His engagement with
the Royal Air Force terminated
on July 31, 1968, but before his
discharge he had sought em-
ployment with the government
service. After positive vetting he
was accepted and began work in
London remaining there until
March, 1976, when he moved to
Cheltenham. During his time in
London, he was again positively
vetted in 1974.
In the course of his employ-
ment both in the Royal Air
Force and in. the.. government
service until he resigned in
September, 1977, Prime came
to have access to information
ranging from the simply sensi-
tive to matters of the very
highest secrecy such that their
communication to an enemy
would cause exceptionally grave
damage to the interests and
security of this country and its
allies.
The prosecution say that for
almost 14 years the defendant
was, in fact, ,in persistent
coniMunication with ? the, Rus-
sians, the information he
disclosed in due course reaching
the 'exceptionally grave dam-
age' category I have referred to.
The defendant was first
interviewed with regard to
espionage on June 8, 1982.
Detective Chief Superintendent
Cole.began by saying:
'R will not surprise you that
because of the nature of the
offences for which you are
being dealt with and your
previous employment with
the Government, your be-
haviour has been put under a
microscope, I have carried
out a number of inquiries
and from these inquiries I
believe that you may have
been engaged.. in passing
information to a subversive
agency.' ?
Prime replied: "f don't
know where you have got
that information from but
that certainly isn't true I can
assure you."
He was given
#2,000 ?
Thereafter he 'was far from
forthcoming. He. claimed that,
the material which the police
had recovered from his home
had been - provided to him for
the purpose of spying by an
Eastern Bloc agent in 1974. He
denied that he had ever
communicated any information
to his contacts. He admitted
visiting Vienna in 1975 and
1976 but insisted that those
visits were simply holidays. He
admitted visiting Vienna in
1980, and Potsdam in 1981, at
the request of his Russian
contact but denied passing any
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Crown's case
was skilful and persistent but
elicited no more than that he
had received #2,000 .rom the
Russians although he never got
further than 'considering' work-
ing for them.
On June 11, 1982 he was
interviewed again and explained
that in September 1977 he had
booked flights to Helsinki on
two occasions with a view to
living in Russia but his regard
for his wife and her children
prevented him from going
through with his plan.
Secret case
compartment
During that interview, which
was quite short, he explained
that in 1974 he had been given,
via his sister, a briefcase with a
secret compartrient containing
spying equipment. The brief-
case, which was already in
police custody in connexion
with the sexual offences, was
fetched and Prime showed the
officers that. if two screws
securing the handle were
removed it exposed a secret
compartment in the base of the
briefcase.
On June 25, 192, Prime was
again interviewed this time for
about seven hours, He repeated
his earlier version of events and
continued to deny passing any
secret information to the Rus-
sians. It would serve little
purpose to relate any of the
detail.
.On the morning of June 26,
1982, Detective Chief Inspector
Picken and Detective Sergeant
Hartridge questioned the defen-
dant again for about 45 minutes
but he repeated his denials.
He was seen again at 2.30 pin
on June 26, 1982 by Detective
Chief Superintendent Cole and
Detective Chief' Inspector
Picken. He admitted that he had
told his wife shortly before his
arrest that he had been spying
but when questioned about this
admission claimed that it was
untrue.
However at 4 pm a dramatic
.change occurred. The defendant
said: "Yes. Mr Cole, at 4 o'clock
today, 26th ofJune, 1982, 1 now
wish to tell you the whole truth
of this tragic affair. I cannot go
on talking about my wife whilst
I am continuing to tell lies. It
will take a long time, could we
have a short break then I'll start
from January, 1968, when this
affair started."
After a short break -the
defendant bean to dictate a
statement. Because of its length
it was not finished on the night
of J une 26, but was broken off alt
9.30 pm and restarted at 10.45
am on Sunday, June 27,
fin hire atease 2
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Sir Michael Iiar'ers: Praise for
police
The salient features emerging
from that statement, were:
a. His first contact with Russian
agents was not in 1974 as he had
claimed but in January 1968,
when he was stationed in Berlin.
According to that statement,
('rime began to feel sympathy
for the Soviet regime in the mid
I 960s and when returning from
leave handed a note to a Soviet
officer manning a check point
into West Berlin indicating that
he wished to make conact. Later
he found a metallic cylinder
attached to the door of his car.
The cylinder contained a note
which directed him to Fried-
richstrasse station where he was
met by Russian agents. lie
explained that he wished to give
them any information they
wan ted.
b. Thereafter, Prime met his
contacts Igor and Valya regu-
larly until July, 1968, when he
left the Royal Air Force. He told
them the nature of his work and
revealed all the information
which was available to him. He
used a miniature camera to
photogragh RAF Gatow's tele-
phone directory and delivered
the photographs together with a
sample of classified- material to
his Russian controller.
c. Prime told his controller that
he was thinking of applying for
employment as a linguist in the
Civil Service and was encour-
aged to pursue his application.
d. He returned to England in
.. uly, 1968, and was successful
in his job application being told
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 to report for duty in London on
September 30, 1968.
c. Before starting work he
returned to East Berlin and
received extensive training in
the arts of the spy. He was
taught the method of secret
writing which allows invisible
messages in code to be`overwrit-'
ten on seemingly innocuous
letters. He was taught how to
use a miniature camera for
pholograghing documents. He
was taught how to receive coded
radio transmissions and how to
receive and handle microdots.
1-le was told the dead letter box
procedure for conveying infor.
Illation.
f. When he returned to England
he brought with him the
briefcase which contained:
(1) Code pads known as 'one
link pads' which he was to
decyphcr messages sent to
him by radio and to encyph-
er messages he sent back.
(2) secret writing paper on
which to write encoded
messages
(3) envelopes addressed to
East Germany which were to
carry the secret messages in
invisible code
(4) #400 in sterling
Code name
Rowlands
He was given the codename
Rowlands and a password to be
used when meeting contacts. In
reply to the contact saying: "I
believe we met in Pittsburgh in
1968", Prime was to reply: "No,
at that time I was in Berlin".
g. Once he started work in
London, Prime regularly con-
veyed information ' to ' the
Russians' and received ' infor-
mation from 'them usually by
radio.
h. In. the autumn ofj969, Prime
was told by radio message to go
to a secret hiding place in Esher,
near a take. He went and
received a,few hundred pounds
in sterling and a letter congratu-
lating him on his progress.
i. In May, . 1970, he took
photographs of documents
which he had . taken with the
miniature 'camera to Abbey
Wood, in London, and left them
at a. secret hiding place in a
wood.
j. In the summer of 1971 he
collected more money and more
spying materials at a pick up
point near Banstead Station, in
Surrey.
k. In 1972 or 1973 the
defendant mislaid his one time
code pads and was forced to
send. a letter to East Germany in
invisible writing in plain text
explaining the loss.
1. According to the defendant,
contact was lost. until 1974
when Soviet agents left a
briefcase at his sister's home.
This part of Prime's statement
is confirmed by Prime's sister
who remembers a man and a
woman who spoke in broken
English delivering a parcel for
Prime. She opened the parcel
and saw the briefcase which was
apparently empty. In fact it was
a replica of the briefcase Prime
had been given in August 1968
and had spying equipment and
#400 in the secret compartment.
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Access to
more secrets
m. In the spring of 1975, while
still in London; Prim-0--was-
given a briefing by his em-
ployers in order to receive and
understand fresh material of a
higher security classification.
He reported immediately to his
controller in East Berlin.
n. His controller arranged a
photographic copies of highly
secret material and microfiche
How spying came to hg
resignation' on September 28,
1977, Prime took 15 rolls of
film amounting to approximate-
ly 500 photographs of top secret
documents.
t. Prime claimed that by
September, 1977, the pressure
of living a double life got too
much for him. He had married
in June, 1977, and taken over
the care of his new wife's three
children. ' He' decided to defect
by flying to Helsinki and indeed
booked flights on September I I
and September 20, 1977, but on
each occasion did not go
through with it.
n Arrnrrtino In Prrmr hr hurl
details of top secret , infor-,, agents until' he-was telephoned
motion. He took -with him in"
MA.... 1 in April, 1980, and asked to go
976
1.._._
p
phed
documents he had had access to 1-ic flew'to Vienna on May
the nature of his new job at rolls of film . of top secret
Cheltenham. documents together with hand-
transferred from ' London to 'Russian cruise ship on the
Cheltenham in'March, 1976. Danube for two or three days
ever wish to defect he would be .
and flew back to England.. given a pension and the rank of : w. In October, 1981, Prime
he became a section head which Berlin on November 16 and was
gave him access to a wider and taken to Potsdam in East
even more secret range of Germany
(DDR) where he was
,
material. As a section head he closely questioned about Allied
4 regularly attended meetings at activities which` were top secret.
It which matters of the utmost When the debriefing was fin-
1 secrecy were discussed. ished he was given #4,000 and
ut s. Between his return from taken back to Berlin.
It Vienna in May, 1976, and his X. Prime indicated that the one
01 time pads and the secret writing
pads which the police had
seized were given to him either
in Vienna in 1980 or at
Potsdam in 1981. He claimed
that he had not' used any of
them nor had he had any further
contact with Russian agents.
y. At the end of his statement
Prime said:
"Looking.-back over the entire
period I deeply regret the extent
of the betrayal manifested by
my activities which were in
breach of the trust place in nie
by my Government. I believe in code on the tape had bee
that I first embarked' on these broadcast in East Germany j
activities partly as a result of 1970.
misplaced idealistic view of a notebook with indecypherab
Soviet socialism ' which was indentations which Primg
compounded by basic psycho- admitted had contained secre
logical problems within myself. carbons. -
These problems had made me' a brown loose leaf folder will
susceptable to the type pt' indentations which were cod
propaganda which I became ' numbers which Prime admitte
aware of during my service. in bad contained secret writin
ashamed and find it difficult to
express my remorse in words iii
relation to the anguish and
suffering which I have caused
for my wife and family."
The defendant, during the
course of his interrogation,
claimed that the miniature
letter's in envelopes addressed t
East Germany. The paten
content of the letters w
innocuous. Prime admitted tha
invisible writing in code
overwritten on letters of that
type
camera and a further'set of one referred to plus the, briefcase
time pads we're still at his hone' were the indispensable tools of
in the attic but despite the most modern spy.
extensive. searches that'; have.. ,The remaining part of thi
not been found. ' ' opening must, in the view ofth
The exhibits recovered from prosecution, take place j
Prime's home ' and his wallet ' camera with all members of th
were examined by, a variety of public excluded because t
experts and their conclusions' explain in any detail wha
were as follows. information Prime passed, an
Exhibit I and 2 - the one time to convey to your Lordship th
pads were of a type used by extreme gravity of what Prim
Russian intelligence. did, would involve revealin
the '.document referring to matters which would,be pre 'u
microdots explained the usual dicial to the national safety its
method of retrieving and revealed. But before doing so, j
developing microdots which are fairness to the defendant, they
a well known method of is one comment I would like t
conveying secret information. ' make. There has been mue
was a signal schedule describing wild speculation, most of whie
days, times and frequencies is unsupported by the evidence
when radio contact could be about the nature of the damag
made with Prime. fot' which he is responsible
was a verbatim copy of part of a especially in relation. to nucl
TOP SECRET document. to warheads and endangering th
which Prime would have had lives of agents. I .repeat, there
access in the course of his work. no evidence to 'support speed
was a powerful radio which was lations of this kind' . ; ? .,
capable of receiving in England There is perhaps one las
short wave radio messages from matter which should be men
East Germany on the fre- tioned ' at this stage. T
qucncies specified in Exhibit 6. responsible services have noth
a tape recording (which was ing but'praise for the masterl
actually on the tape recorder way in 'which Detective Chie
when found by the police) Superintendent Cole, etc iv
which contained highly sensi- Chief Inspector, Picken a
live information and was in police officers under the
Prime's voice. coped with what is the grave=
a tape recording 'which con- investigation they will ever
taincd speech in German a likely to undertake: In
language of which Prime had a unfamiliar field they work
working knowledge. The speech with remarkable diligence
In a nutshell the exhibit
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The seven charges
Geoffrey Prime pleaded guilty to
seven charges under Section 1 (1) (c)
of the Official Secrets Act. 1911, of
,communicating information useful to
an enemy. They were:
COUNT ONE: That Prime for
purposes prejudicial to the safety or
interests, of the State between
December 31, 1967, and August 1
1968, communicated in Berlin
information which nas calculated to
be or might be or was intended to be
directly or indirectly useful to an
enemy. COUNT TWO: As above As above but between November 1
but between September 30, 1968, and 30. 1981. in Potsdam.
and April 29, 1982. and without any Prime also pleaded guilty to three
geographical location. COUNT charges under the Sexual Offences
'1'EIREE: As above but between May Act, 1956, of indecent assault.
1 and 3, 1970, at Abbey Wood, COUNT ONE: On April 10, 1980
London. COUNT FOUR: As above indecently assaulted a girl aged 11.
but between September I and 30, in Gloucestershire. COUNT TWO:
1975, in Vienna. COUNT FIVE: As On May 28, 1981, indecently
above but between May I and 31, assaulted a girl aged 13 in
1976, in Vienna. COUNT SIX: As Worcestershire. COUNT THREE:
above but between May I and 31, On April 21.
1982, indecently
1980, in Vienna. COUNT SEVEN: assaulted a girl aged 14 in 1lcreford.
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/i IVDV '4rz
Security
chaos
that
aided
an agent
g
ON APRIL 1, 1981, the civil
service unions at GCIiQ in
Cheltenham decided to work
to rule as part of their
national campaign. This
meant that they followed all
available security procedures.
The result was chaos.
Rigorous security checks at
the gates to the base caused
a queue pf traffic which
trailed back to the M5 motor-
way and started to choke the
centre of Cheltenham. The
local police complained bit-
terly and soon the normal,
lax security was restored.
Sources close to the base
claim that security there has
been in decline for the last
two or three years, largely
because the number of secur-
ity staff has been cut lit an
attempt to save money with-
out jeopardising the base's
maiin job of gathering intelli-
gence.
In spite of the arrest of
Geoffrey Prime in June, and
the emphasis this has placed
on the need for security, the
sources say that procedures
have not changed, and the
decline continues. Outside
contractors have been work-
ing there maintaining equip-
ment - a risk to security
which saves some money.
Prime is the first Chelten-
ham employee to be prose-
cuted for spying. Alex
Lawrie, who worked there
for 22 years and who has be-
come an outspoken critic,
said : " That meaxis either
that security is so good that
there have been no others or
that it is so bad that the
others have not been found.
I must incline towards the
latter view."
-Other GCHQ stations na
certainly been penetrated by
spies. One of tilicm, RAF Ser-
geant Doug Britten, is still in
prison serving a 21-year sen-
tence for spying for the Bus-
sians from 1962 to 1968 at
listening posts in Cyprus, and
Britain.
Details of the damage done
by Britten were kept. secret
at his trial, but a mares who
worked with him at ? Digby
has told the Guardian :
"There was the biggest flap
ever, just after the Cuban
'crisis in 1962, because the
Russians suddenly changed
everything.
" After a period of years
and years when 'you had
been able to tune in kgfowing
the right time and the right
frequency, you tuned in and
there was nothing there.
That was Doug Britten? He
had told 'them exactly what
frequencies and call. signs
and codes we knew about, so
they changed the lot.';'
Britten was recruiited by a
Soviet diplomat, Alexander
Ivanovitch BorisenkG,' Who
approached him in the Kens-
ington Science Museum in-
troduced himself as "Yuri ",
and started talking to him
about amateur' radio.,
Britten's hobby.
Yuri started to buy -low-
grade information from
Britten, phtographed the pay-
ments and then blackmailed
shim for higher rade mat-
erial. Britten used a camera,
disguised as a cigarette case,
to photograph documents at
Rigby, and beer cans with
false bottoms to pass on the
negatives.
Unlike Prime, Britten was
caught by the internal G'CIIQ
security system which
noticed that he was, living
beyond his means, A report
by the Security Commission
concluded, perhaps optimisti-
cally, that tits case reflected
no security weakness.
During the period of
Britten's espionage, a cor-
poral with the army signals
unit at Teufelsberg in Nest
Germany, Brian Patchett, de-
fected to East Germany
taking still more GCHQ sec-
rets with him. Apart from
Prime, Britten and Patchett
in the GCIiQ complex, the
Russians have been well
served by infiltrators in the
American National Security
Agency, which is so tight and
secretive that it is known
colloquially as No Such
Agency
in 1960, two NSA intelli-
gence analysts, Vernon Mit-
chell and Bill Martin,
defected to the Soviet Union
where they held a press con-
ference, exposing the NSA's
activities and, in particular,
its habitual interception of
its allies' communications.
In the backwash of their
detection, 26 other NSA
employees lost their, jobs in
"a purge of sexual deviants"
inspired by the "fact that US
security officers believed that
the defectors might have
been homosexual. Three
years later, in 1963, another
NSA employee, a cryptologist
named Victor Hamilton, de-
fected to Moscow. Again, the
Russians allowed him to pub-
licise details of. the NSA's
activities in an interview
with the newspaper Izvestia.
At the same time, army
sergeant Jack Lunlap, who
was a courier at an NSA
base, shot himself when he
discovered that he was being
investigated for living beyond
his means.
Internal documents are all
classified. Sensitive material
at GCIiQ is marked "Handle
via Comint channels only"
- a higher classification
than top secret: Lven
administrative.. hienios are
marked Sniff =-- In confi-
dence.
Specific lioctiments have a
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Agent aided by chaos
coded classification, The most
sensitive .fnateriai is marked
" Umbra;" a slightly lower
category is " Spoke."
Alex Lawrie is by no
means the only GCHQ
employee who is scathing
about the practical effect of
the security- procedures. One
former employee said: "I
have known . of numerous
occasions of people leaving
with secret stuff, often not
even knowing they had taken
it."
This man described secur-
ity at one RAF listen-
ing post in West Berlin.
"There is no security. It
would be so easy to give
someone secrets from there
- just put it in your pocket,
get a bus into West Berlin
and hand it over.
" Or go into East Berlin
for that matter. I once fell
asleep on the S-bahn and
woke up in East Berlin, It's
no problem."
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Five stripped of security
clearance.- as result
of Prime's blacl~ail list.
Geoffrey Prime, the jailed
Russian spy, acted as a "talent
spotter" for his Soviet masters
and drew up detailed lists of
potential blackmail targets
among the staff at the Govern-
ment Communications HQ in
Cheltenham.
During his 14 years as a
Russian linguist, the last two at
the Cheltenham HQ, Prime,
aged 42, who was imprisoned
for 35 years last November,
built up detailed files on the
people he worked with.
A considerable number of
files have been discovered,
containing hundreds of personal
facts about his, colleagues.
Those named have been inter-
viewed by, officers from MI5
and the GCHQ security div-
ision.
Five of them have been
disciplined and lost security base in 1977 he had already
From Our Correspondent, Cheltenham
clearance because they were not been replaced by at least one
entirely frank when questioned. other "mole" who had an equal,
As a result they have been if not greater access to classified
demoted. information.
The people were interviewed Otherwise Prime would have
to discover if they had been put been, encouraged to stay on.
under any pressure by the' Instead the Russians agreed to
Russians. his leaving, and even offered
The five had tried to cover up him the rank of colonel in The
certain personal details which' KGB with a pension for life.'
they did not know their Prime, who also built up
interrogators were aware of as a detailed files on young girls,
result of Prime's information. three of whom he assaulted in
However, none was found to be attacks"which finally led to his
under Soviet pressure. arrest and the discovery of his
The inquiries, described by spying activities, is to appeal
one. of the five as "hostile", against his sentence later in the
involved a detailed examin- year.
ation of their bank accounts and He will he claiming that 35
extended to what they did in years, and three more on top for
their private lives. his sex offences, was too harsh
MI5 full
li
ce an
The underlying reason for the after he gave po
interviews was M15's belief that cooperation when it was dis-
when Prime came to leave the covered that he was a Soviet
Approved For Release 2005/08/16 : CIA-RDP96B01172R000300020001-7
 Approved For Rele
The man
who
rocked
the boat
Eric Marsden on South
Africa's spy scandal
AT THE GATE of the Simone
town naval dockyard a notir c
warning visitors to take photo-
graphs or make sketches r,
signed "The Commodore".
"Please don't photograph the
the submarine," a woman
officer said, but it was too late
in more senses than one. I he
forbidding commodore Wa': In
fail, suspected of passim: the
secrets of the naval base to Iii:
Russians.
The arrest of Cor nnodnrc
Dieter Gerhardt, 47, and Ili,
wife, Ruth, 40, had been
announced by the prime minis-
tcr, Pieter Botha, on the cse of
the annual visit to the base by
the foreign press corps. The
visit went ahead in lower hey
than usual but a planned call at
the underground Silverminc
communications station, which
monitors Soviet naval move-
nients in the southern Indian
Ocean and the South Atlantic,
was dropped.
We were advised politely that
none of the officers or staff of
the Simonstown dockyard
would have any, comment on
Gerhardt's departure, and were
given little chance of talking to
anyone but the two hricting
officers. There seemed to be less
activity than usual: The espion-
j age scandal has shaken morale
j and shocked the multiracial
work force of 2,500.
Gerhardt is believed to have
,een c etainee through coo per-
at on with foreign intelligence
services. , ources in Pretoria sav
that Soviet s ie have been
uncovered in several countries,
including .out rica as a
result of the recent reshuffle of
tile West German r elii en
service B rn `eh i-I -
dicnst. Other sources claim that
6B011 72R000 00020001-7
,flu.- lY?.~
Gerhardt: shock arrest
matriculating. He was encour-
aged by a Young lieutenant,
"Chips" Biermann, who later
became chief of the navy, It,
complete his studies all( l'
led to an engineering degree and
later to overseas training.
Diplomatic and intelligence
circles think that the,ruthotitic,
may be more interested in what
they can learn from '+Iis
Gerhardt than her hushand.
The Gerhardts were mairicd It)
years ago, and there is specu-
lation that the alleged espio-
nage activities began about that
time.
l'he couple, whose ?fir,
Gregory, is being looked alter
by Gerhardt's brother, a ,foh.in-
nesb,irg doctor, are being held
under Section 29 critic
Int.tn.rl
Security Act, relating to deten-
tion for alleged terrorism ;111d
subversion. These oIlcnccs, like
treason, carry death as a
nna_xintun penalty.
The navy refuses to conuuent
on reports that it has hcrn
meeting to decide w hcthcr an
exhaustive review of polic\,
projects and security measure,
is needed in view of secrets
supposedly now in Moscow's
hands.
The Soviet Union have been
particularly interested in Sil'cr-
mine, which has been kept ti urn
prying eyes. Its detailed reports
on shipping movements, trans-
mitted regularly to New bulk.
have helped the US na%v in
complementing Ioh rtttdlrn::
obtained by satellite.
Dieter Gerhardt's father was
born in Germany and in 1927
emigrated to South Africi.
.where he was to become an
architect for the government.
But Dieter was born when the
Iamily was in Berlin and it is
heliescd lie was not brought to
South Africa until after the war.
nretcftek.eVedr F r:Rellease 2005/08/16
Now that Gerhardt and Its
Swiss-born wile are
to i il,
people are asking how a torc,it:n-
born man could have risen to
such senior service rank. Ger-
hardt, says one neighbour, seas
more of an in tellectu,11 ttr,ui
most naval officers and closely
interested in politics. Ili,
political philosophy did not
seem to be on the, lines of the
Christian Nationalism pra,_
fessed by the country's rulers.
South ;African Icalei's uc
convinced that the Sinlonsto%krr
scandal is Further proof that the
naval base is a prime Soviet
target for control of the
southern seas. Since Jame;
Callaghan pulled Britain out of
the base eight years ago, iii
deference to black Africa, it has
been unused by western has res.
South Africa has been tentati-
vely forging links with South
American states, including
Argentina, but reports of a
South Atlantic treaty organis-
ation have been denied by both
sides.
 Approved Fo ~'!CVM& 1;a7~ 0300020001-7
Duff forJ IC
Sir Antony Duff' is expected to
be confirmed this week as
chairman of the Joint Intelli-
gence Committee, which has
been reorganized on the sugges-
tion of the Franks committee
Duff to be
new head of
intelligence
committee
By Peter Hennessy
Whitehall expects Sir Atony
Duff, coordinator of security
and intelligence in the Cabinet
office, to be confirmed this
week as chairman of the Joint
Intelligence Committee (JIC),
which has been refashioned on
the recommendation of the
Franks report,
He will succeed Mr Patrick
Wright, the Foreign Office
deputy secretary, who has
headed the committee since
January, 1982.
The Prime Minister
discussed Sir Antohy's appoint-
ment at the weekend in
conversation with a number of
Whitehall insiders, including Sir
Robert Armstrong, the
Secretary of the Cabinet, Mr
Francis Pym, the Foreign
Secretary, and Mr Michael
licscltine, the Secretary of State
for Defence.
Sir Antony, who will be 63
next month, retired from the
Foreign Office in 1980 but was
persuaded to return to lead the
Cabinet Office's security and
intelligence secretariat, which
watches the budgets of the
secret agents on behalf of the
Cabinet Secretary. He was
planning to retire again this
spring and is still keen to go.
However, Sir Antony seems
certain to accede to Mrs
Margaret Thatcher's plea that
Ile set up the newlook JIC. How
long he will remain and who
will be groomed to succcd him
is an open question, since
Whitehall appears unusually
devoid of talent on the intelli-
gence side at present.
Sir Antony headed the JIC
between 1976 and 1979 during
his tenure of the Foreign Office
deputy secretaryship, which
traditionally cames the ex-offt-
cio chairmanship of the com-
mittee.
Lord Franks recommended
that the link should be ended,
that the post become full-time
and be based at the Cabinet
Office, with its holder enjoying
direct access to the Prime
Minister.
In 1979-80 Sir Antony was
Deputy Governor, Southern
Rhodesia, overseeing the tran-
sition to independence and the
emergence of Zimbabwe. He
was made a Privy Councillor in
recognition of his services in
southern Africa.
In spite of his Foreign Office
background, Sir Antony is
greatly admired by Mrs Thatch-
cr. He also enjoys one of the
highest reputations among his
fellow professionals in White-
hall.
Whitehall expects him to
become part of Mrs Thatcher's
"alternative Foreign Offigp".
which alread)' ine'ludes it
Anthony Parsons, former am-
bassador to the United Nations
and now 11cr foreign policy
adviser at 10 Downing Street.
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 Approved For eJa a 40A10
organisations.. like MIS to rely
upon one reference from a
man's wife and another from a
woman who was a trusted
friend to appoint a man like
Prime to a sensitive position."
Beneath Dartford Conserva-
tive Assocation's decision "not
to condemn Miss Barsby under
any circumstances" ? is a deep
embarrassmen on the part of
Conservative Parliamentary
candidate, Mr. Robert Dunn,
who until .the dissolution of
Parliament last week was
Parliamentary Private Secre-
tarv, to Mr. Cecil Parkinson, the
WOMAN WHO SHIELDED A SPY
WAS CANDIDATE
FOB. TORIES.
By GERALD BARTLETT
MISS DOROTHEA BARSBY,.the woman
criticised.by the Security Commission
for shielding the spy Geoffrey Prime, was
last night defended by Dartford Conserva-
tive party officials, who recently appointed
her a candi'da'te in local elections.
" We checked her suitability for the job of
representing as in 'the Swanscombe and Greenhithe
council elections, and judged her to be excellent. and
personable political material, said Mr Anthony
Gilliam, Conservative Association chairman.
" We would certainly con-
fider her for office again in
i e same way as anybody
Ise. The fact that this
voman stood as referee. for:
'rime has been given far
nore importance and promi-
nence than it really war-
~ants. It surely plays 'only
a minor part in all of this."
Miss Barsby, who was not at
her home in Sun Villas, London
lioad, Dartford, last night, came
last in a field of six council
rlection candidates with 92
iites.
` Incompetence ' claim
At no time did she tell Dart-
ford Conservative Association
officials of her involvement with
Prime or his first wife.
Mr Gilham hinted at incom-
petence on the part of the
security services when he said
it did not "seem sensible for
night, but referred all callers
to Mr Gilliam..
The Security Commission re-
port last week revealed that
Prime's spying activities at the
top-secret Government Com-
municatio'ns Headquarters in
Cheltenham could, have been
ended in 1973 had not Miss
Barsby lied to 'security investi-
gators about his integrity.
Miss Barsby, who knew Prime
had confessed to being a Soviet
agent to his first wife in 1973-
the first Mrs Prime and Miss
Barsby are close friends - was
nominated by Prime as one of
his referees..
Confession hidden
Not only did Miss Barsby not
volunteer her knowledge of that
confession, but she told the in-
vestigator she had no reason
to think Prime should not be
entrusted with secret Govern-
ment work, said the Security
Commission report.
Miss Barsby, said to be " an
attractive woman in her' early
30s with short dark hair and a
pleasant, personable manner'
is believed to have worked as
a personnel officer. in London
for some years, before return-
ing to Dartford, where she was
born, to be near her parents.
Neighbours at Miss Barsby's
neat terraced-house said last
night that they had not " had
sight, or sound of Dot" since,
last Thursday - the day the
Security Commission report was
published..
At another address she same
Local party workers who white mobile cafe in a front
agree Miss Ba-rsby was put for garden from which she and a
ward at short notice to "wave woman friend serve hamburgers
a blue flag in a sea of red " to motorists on the A2 was
acknowledge that her involve- closed.
nient with Prime could now Prime's first wife Helena, now
reduce Mr Dunn's votes at the Mrs Overy and living in Black.
election. ' heath, was last night still con-
Neither Mr Dunn nor his wife sidering ' making a statement
were prepared to comment last through her solicitor.
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 Approved For Relea's
Friend knew Prime.
was spy
in 1973
F
By GERALD BARTLETT
GEOFFREY PRIME'S spying activities for the
Russians could have been ended. in 1973 had
a close friend of his first wife, who: knew he ?had
admitted being a Soviet agent, not- deliberately lied .
to security investigators about his integrity, Mrs
Thatcher said in-the Commons yesterday.
The friend, Miss Dorothy K.i Barsby, who knew of,
Prime's admission from the first Mrs Prime, wa,F norm-
nated by Prime as one of his referees for a.? rtijre..
wetting investigation in ~- --- .
1973. " Not only did she
not volunteer her know-
ledge of the confession ...
but she told the inxesti
gator she had no reason to
think Prime should not be
entrusted with secret
Government work."
Mrs Thatcher, in a written
reply to a question about the
Security Commission :report on
the Prime case, said, the com-
mission recognised that person-
nel security measures, no matter
how rigorous, could never pro-
vide an absolute guarantee
against. disloyalty.," They have nevertheless re-
commended a number of
measures to improve our defen-
ces. The Government accepts
the commission's recommenda-
tions, and will implement them
as quickly as possible."
bility .of using lie detectors dur-.
ing- screening, and random
searches of staff handling highly..
classified material at Govern-
ment establishments:
Prime, 44, was sentenced . to
35 years in, prison last. Nbvem-.'
her for spying. for the Russians
from, the secret Government
Communications Headquarters
at Cheltenham. Miss . Barsby
was a witness .at his wedding in
August, 1969.
Six-month inquiry
He may not. have been the
only " mole " supplying the
KGB from the top-secret
Government Communications
Headquarters . at Cheltenham,
the Security Commission said in
its report yesterday on a -six.
month inquiry, headed by Lord
Bridge, into the affair.
The' security service is still
carrying out investigations at
G C HQ, said the 43-page
report.
The report said that since
Prime stood trial, his first wife,
Helena (no.w Mrs Helena O
Approved For Release CIA-RDP96BOl172R000300020001-7
i The, recommendations include
a pilot scheme to test the feasi-
 Approved For Release 2005/08/16 : CIA-RDP96B01172R000300020001-7
By GERALD BARTLETT
Continued from laage One
and her close friend, a Miss
Barsby, had both confessed that
they knew he was a spy.
His first wife said that in
April; 1973, she discovered a
large sum of money, which led
to Prime admitting he was sup-
plying' information to . the
Itossiaas.
MissBarsby, who subsequently
became a positive vetting
referee for Prime, admitted that
his wife told her about this,
and she therefore knew he had
admitted to spying before
she agreed to be his referee.
"It is tragic that neither of
these women had the courage
to come forward and di,.unce
Prime, and so put a stop to his
espionage in 1973," said the
report. .
'Strong dislike'
Miss Barsby had since said
she threatened to tell the police
about Prime's spying, where-
upon his wife said she would
completely deny the story.
But the report added that
Miss Barsby took a strong dis
like to the positive vetting I
investigating officer who inter
viewed her " because most of
his questions were about her,'
rather than about Prime."
For I1 Years, the inquiry dis-
covered, Prime, a Russian lin.
guist, was regularly taking the
most highly-srerrt documents
home in his briefcase in the
ings. and photographing or
copying them there.
,lie had access to information
of the very highest secrecy."
The conclusion was "ineseaN
able that the damage be
inflicted was of a very high
order."
Lord Bridge's inquiry at
GCHQ fduod there was no
check to ensure that documents
were present before the vaults
were locked at the end of each
day. To th 12 months before the
inquiry began last November,
no spot dnecks were carried out
to ensure that top-secret docu-
ments were confined to G C H Q
offices.
In Aullust, 1968, a month
before joining GCHQ, Prime
flew to Berlin and spent a week
in a flat being trained by two
Russian agents in radio trans-
mission, secret writing use of
codes, microdots ant dead-
letter hoses, the report added.
However, the commission
said, Prime's positive vetting
was " thorough, conscientiousi
"
and effident.
Psychological tests
Among its recommendations
the commission spid considera-
tion should be given to the
introduction of psychological
testing into the screening pro-
mss.
Positive belting should where
possible and appropriate,' in-
clude "interviews with' inde-
pendent persons other than the
referees named by the appli-
ca nc"
Recommendations by the
Security Service about the
security arrangements at
Cheltenham concerned improve.
ments to perimeter fencing, site
layout, car parking, security
{ points, gateways and barriers;
supervision of staff at overseas
staffs atand on tached return; GCHQ from
other organisations - and on
contractors; design of passes;
spot checks on classified docu-
ments and computer" material;
"lost document procedures
and access by cleaners.
" None of these measures
would, in our opinion, have
played any part in deterring,
impeding or revealing Prime's
espionage had they been in
force in 1976 to 1977," the
report said.
The commission said that an
"extreme measure " which
migyt theoretically have been
embodied to personner security
screening procedures would be
the use of random, overt sor.
veillanee of the subject's private
activitie.
"This was universally and
emphatically rejected by all
those with whom we discussed
it and we think rightly so."
Last at a G C H Q spoke sman
saidt " It is the first we have
"rd of the person by the
name of Barsby. She is not and
was never an employee of
I G C H Q."
rM'R 19a3~ N.NaY~O hr Yba.
Approved For Release 2005708M : CIA-RDP96B0l172R000300020001-7
 Approved Fo
0300020001-7
II -RBO 77
In ;'the' :da'tk record of `Soviet . when , ahe .pglygraph ,(or lie to reassure the United States in
penetration, of Bnush: secrets;,. detector). joined: the defensive this 'area. 'The. very special
hisiory ,_ bps , .a grim; habrt ofr.:armoury of. the positive, vetting intelligence; relationship between
repea'iing,itself.;:In >1B52: intense procedure The? United' States', Washington!, andWhitehall is
.
pressure from??the. United! States authoritie?'t told, they Coin-' '-:central to the defence of the
after' s the !conviction of ?. Klaus mrssipners,they were certain. that West.
Fuchs `and the defection "of NSA, polygraphs would have The Prime` Minister. has there
Bur ess' and Maclean' forced "- picked up;;an American equiva- fore accepted the sensible ,and
Whitehall; o introduce positive ., lent .,. pf rime. Com= welcome controls of the use of
velung,.;`.ThirtyF year's later'. a? missioners. became, convinced -
m polygraphs?recommended by the
similar cycle of security. lapse that polygraphs in Cheltenha Security, Commission.
ari?,prompting-from,Washington.: would :.have kept Prime out ,of. : The tech-
has:;led,to?, further tightening of = the Government" Communi nique will only be applied, to
Britain 'santi mole mesh cattons Headquarters persons aerving.: irithe security
and intelligence agencies; -,and
Time :Americans, whose intgih,: -The ,Council,of'Ci' it Service only .when. questions such as
gence organizations have been Unions does not like the idea "have the 'other side ever tried to
locked into ours by, both Treaty and has denounced its use. as an-.. . recruit, you?"' ,rather than ;"do
and mutual self; interest sittce';un- ritish''activity that will. be'! you have trouble; with your:, wife
1946, have a right to complain. inefficient and unjust to boot.- or bank manager?" : have: to be:
stridently wh'en,a spy Ias damag- The council's'' strictures should,:. asked. The'Commissioners'have
ing ; as',' Prime .is~! unmasked, not ,be dismissed as , a 'routine' ` recognised' the unreliability" of
particularly as he was uncovered tabour, movement knee: jerk ? polygraphs and ;warned that an
by accident. The `original police':.,against anythirigiMrs ? Margaret adverse finding of itself must not
interest' in ` liim stemmed from Thatcher does, since Whitehall's ` be deemed conclusive" Equally
his sexual.' deviation rather than : unions haver usually cooperated .daft, though' the, Security' Corn
the political 'perversion implicit responsibly: and sensibly. in such' mission does not say it would be
in his, pro . Soviet leanings. Yet*, matters since Mr - Attlee intro, to assume that anybody who has
there is.. an ' cleriient of holier-.: duced his rudimentary pre-posi- cleared the' lie detector hurdle is
than-thou in Washington's atti- - tivb vetting "purge procedure" demonstrably clean.
tude. it rscently noa the in 1948, when MI5; the ''reasury, , Positivevettingis,has: alway
s,
y p p r to and the unions agreed to operate been, and. will remain .volunta
number; of : defections; and/.or jointly a ".no martyrs"policy to
espionage convictions since 1945`` But in this case the council is, If an official. hyes not want
d
produced ;;the,, following tally: wron , endure' k Whitehall a will find
United States 57r United King. sensitive:.areas would; wherever
dom -25.' possible be . found, for.. officials private office, ,the nuclear si a of
'r-he Securit Commissioner's denied , clearance, " the Ministry of Defence, or the
y , secret ' agencies, A post in a
findings on Pnriie, though con,' . It,.is ve
ry proper that , there se .n .., e, 'section of governruent.
taming . a . battery of sensible,...: should- be concern about, poly- service -is a privilege not a , right
practical, improvements: in tech graphs. There'; are pleasanter'` even for -an -established civil
nique- in what can never be -a ways of spending a morning than'. servant. The nation's security in
fool-proof procedure will ;be. being wired up by the gentlemen these most sensitive areas is too
remembered as the occasion of MI5; but there is a clear need important to be trifled with.
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 Approved For CIA-RDP96B01172R000300020001-7
Britian's: counter-espon}age` .. , . , .:,
operators should bep~t throiigh
an intensive 14month trairltng . ~ ack on daughter _. a.as ..illa.a or blow:
.course.;befor htey.ire?ahgwed`to' The father, of ,the woman ful" and said it was tragic that 1lss Baraby was. ? cloise
use polygraph lie detectors in denounced by.. the Security niether. woman had the cour- friend of. Miss? Helena. Organ,
positive vetting,, leading.secur- Commission for not exposing , . Page to. expose Prme and put it , and :` was a :witness .: at her
ity; experts said yesterday.. Put' Geoffrey Prime, the spy for the ? stop - to ; his espionage nine wedding to ` Prime r:; in the
the machines would undoubt .Russians, nine years before he years ago: ;;Church of StAnselm' and St
edly'-' . have exposed Geoffrey, .was caught,; said yesterday Speaking from his Theme in Cecilia 'in -' north 'London . Yn
Prime,: who spied.' for the that the disclosures had 'come Dartford, Kent, where he is 1969. The marriage lasted six
Russians from 1968 until 1981. as a "major blow".. ?; :. bedridden, her - ?father, Mr years and the'couple, separated
The training is vital because'
interpretation of the ? physical . Miss Dorothy` Barsby. -had man bwith adbad heart sand it Cheltenham. She hash since
stress revealed . by the lie been told by Primes first wife
detector is the key to the test:, ?in , 1973 that he was a spy but came as, ' ma jot blow, to me married a London teacher,
Mr' Peter Heims, a: securit had not-told the-police:. She. Y. gllter report. Sh Stephen Overt'.
consultant who specialized in had' even acted a referee for cued in the official report. She Miss ' Barsiy's ' 'role" was
stress analysis;.instaff recruit not interfere Y" v repo.. was ,h.,published on.
ment, said mistakes can occur if saying she knew of no reason.
. n Prime was jailed for 38 Thursday. There was no reply
machines ;are- operated by whY he < Yshould ot be years last year,. for-'passing yesterday. at.; her home in
"inez riecned' "'o le. entrusted. with secret govern
"pe-detecto s should ,be used went work secrets to the . Russians .while Dartford, "Kent. The curtains'
t he,worked .,at:the. Government were. drawn. There was also no
only' has an .?aid' ;` Mr Heinis 'The=commission;. chaired by ?. Communications , Head ` response from :;'the ' home, of
said.: "You should never basea Lord Bridge described-Miss , ..quarters. (GCHQ) at Chelten Mrs Helena Overy, in.:south
decision just-on what you find Barsby's'action as "disgrace ham.., London;
from it..The machine is.' only las
nary; you sironia give a person lhe'former`Young`Liberal-slid they should-,be forced on-people ,subjected to a polygraaph?test.?It
the benefit of any doubt. "
civil rights activist naw fighfing: because there 4s an.-element: of ?. is absolutely impossible to beat
The Government's propg3ed Putney,_''for Labour 'in fhe chance about it." the. lie. ;detector, when it,. Js
introduction of,polygraphs has election Mr Ham, acquitted on ~` Opinions vary' on the accu- operated by trained hands."
aroUSed'opposition from trades charges o1 raiding ,a ba~}k' in racy of ? the' test; with some According to the Security'
unions on libertarian grounds Putney, was also declared authorities citing a figure as low Commission 'yesterday, the
But, Mr Helms, who advocates itiriobent by the polygraph. ; as '80- 'per' cent' and claiming' it SovietUnion 'had' advised its
use of the machines - for' MPs, Mr Hain said Yesterddy ? he can be defeated by trained spies. - agents in the- United States to i
civil "servants,. police and local had been apprehensive':-about `BuC' according' to' Mr "Jeremy avoid ' polygraph ' tests. rPrime
government g c, 6-ts as, well as the `test 'I: thought that if by Barrett,' 'managing ,director' of acknowledged''"under "interro-
the security: services, said some fluke'.or'tect nical~aber- Polygraph Limited, the-'-instru- cation that he would not have
"When national; 'security is ration it should point the other ment is 95 per cent accurate.. sought a' jolt' 6f'' GCHQ in
involved, rivacy goes out of way'it would; gbviously be very He.said yesterday "I have no Cheltenham, 'one ' of the highest
the ' window.' aging:'I' don t ,think 'any doubt thatwe. could have security establishments in the
One of those tp .benefit.irom body has anything to fear"from exposed'~GSoffrey` Prime many country i'he had been required
the polygraph is Mr Peter Hain, lie detectors but I don't think years ago ? 'if he 'habeen totake g'lie'detector test.
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 Approved For Relea
Security
overhaul
to stop
Prime
repeat
By Nick Davies
THE Government yesterday
agreed to a radical overhaul
of internal security in White.
hall and In the intelligence
services to deal with the sue.
cession of aecurlly failures
behind the case of Geoffrey
Prime, who -pled for the
Russians from 1908 to 1981.
A Security Commission
report, published yesterday,
highlights the ease with
which Prime slipped through
the positive vetting system
and evaded physical security
precautions while he
channelled highly dasslfed
Information from the Govern-
ment Communications (lead.
quarters in Cheltenham to
the KGB.
In one damning Passage,
the commission discloses that
Prime's first wife and her
best friend both knew he was
a spY.in 1973. Neither woman
Leader comment, page 12
said anything to the author.
sties, despite the fart that
the friend was nominated by
Prime as a character referee,
and Interviewed by a positive
vetting officer.
The commission, which has
been studying the ease since
Prime was gaoled for 15
years last November, recmn.
mends a series of changes,
many of which have been
pressed upon them by the
American Intelligence ser.
vices, whose own operations
were Jeopardised by Prime's
activities.
The commission makes its
recommendations with an air
of pessimism. "We recognise
that personnel s e c u r i t y
measures, no matter how
rigorous, tan never provide
an absolute guarantee against
disloyalty.
But the vi id deniemlra.
tips which the Prime case
ePorda underlines the neceP,
sib for the 'adoption of "ttie
mMt-iQaetlva..praetlat safe.
guards pehla~' human
Ingenuity's-
At the recruitment stage,
applicants should undergo a
polygraph test--sometimes
called a Ile detector-along
tie Rna. of that lined by the
CIA and the NSA in the
United States for the last 80
years. Questions would be re.
?trieted to direst matters of
loyalty and, unlike the Amer.
Ican test, would not stray
Into general matters of 116,
style and background.
Applicants should also un.
dergo a psychological test, in
the form of a lengthy ques-
tionnaire, designed to reveal
P.M. flaws d character,
This, too, is standard price.
dure for new recruits to the
Turn to back page, eel. 8
1172R000300020001-7
Security overhaul to stop Prime case repeat
Conti from page one been peat
American Intelligence coro? decides whether it
w munity, them. d He --old commisslthe on'a heart stance the sensT Min' ed the etammlaslos'a find- 1191 These two fillers would he Again the report stresses Pthe rim eeane internalt attu Ile yesterday, o the Co...
hacked by interviews with a the exceptional damage procedures functioned y whole c and accepted the
larger selection of the appll. which Prime Inflicted feetly. per. whole package. However, she
cant's associates, not simply .The commission's recent. rr ere acknowledged that parts pre-
(hose who had been .__._. __.__ .
refe
one eommi
b-cl. a p?`" such oohs-lace, since security emcee. "The any
list of suggestions by 8115 havcue nspolygraphs -oast vetting system does not
officers who checked securit Jetted istently been cc. protect us from Prime, but
at Gs who Cheltenham by Internal Inaulries the eaplanatlon for this Iles
after Prime's arrest last verses-nand nofth their neffecti. to the Illf atlons of the sya.
]use, and notes that action cation, for Invasion of tem Itee17 and not to any
on these suggestlo?s has privacy, fault on the part of those
who operate It"
adds: Civil Service union
leaden re
acted angrily yes.
terday to the Security
Commission's recommend..
aUon that Ile detectors (poly-
graphs) should be introduced
to vet officials appointed to
Particularly sensitive posts.
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 STAT Approved For Release 2005/08/16 : CIA-RDP96B01172R000300020001-7
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COMMUNICATIONS
HEADQUARTERS
CHELTENHAM
U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY
"I see they've tightened up on security!"
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I
 Approved For Rd'~~- P96B01172 300020001-7
/J 14-4~
Lie detector to
be used on
security staff
By Rodney Cowton, Defence Correspondent
The use of the polygraph or the procedures themselves that
lie detector in Britain is to be must be reexamined."
introduced as soon as possible Prime was brought totice
as a resultof a recommendation when his second wife rejvusealed
given to'-1?arliament by.. the his activities to the police.
Security Commission yesterday. However, the report reveals that
The commission had been prime's first wife, Helena (now
examining the circumstances Mrs Ovary) bad been told by.
under which Geoffrey Prime him ofhis activities in 1973.
.had been-able to spy for the She also told her close:; friend
Russians from 1968 until 1981, Miss Barsby.
during most'of which time he .The report records that -Miss
was employed at, the Govern. Barsby subsequently acted as a
ment" Communications Head- referee for Prime when his
quarters (GCHQ) at Chelten- positive veftiag was, being
ham, one of the highest security reviewed, and told the invesa-
establishments- in the country. paling; officer that "she had eo
Prime was jailed for 35 years at reason ,to: think. Prime should
Prim Old Bailey last November. ? not be' entrusted with secret
The commission says that the got'ernnlent work.-:.
polygraph' is the only means The. commission, describes
which could have protected Miss Dars by's action Is'
GCHQ from Prime's treachery. graceful", and. say's, it is,tragic
The. commission has` there-, that neither of these women ltad,
fore recommended that a'pilot the courage to denounce him
u6eine sing the lygraph and ,so put a stop to his,
should be introduced four screen- espionage in'.1973.
ing in the security ' and intelli= It also notes' that Prime
Bence , services. The Prime consulted a psychiatrist in
Minister Said yesterday, in a November 1972, and that if this
written parliamentary reply to' had been known about it might
Mr Michael' Fn.:. that ? th
e
Government accept the com-
mission's recommendation:
The commission's propogal is
limited .to-. the use, of the
polygraph: to . counter-iatelh-
gence examinations, for
example the. detection, of,,',ap-"
preaches by-hoftilerigtelligence
services. It wil'notbe tended
to cover questions of life-ptyle'
such as drug-tailing, sexual
habit's, financial matters and so
on. '
The: report alsorecommends
the introduction ? ,of!-random'
searches of staff as they leave
GCHQ, and'suggests that these
might also be: considered for
other government establish-
ments where large quantities of
highly classified material are;
available, : :. have ,s.raised' a ;doubt about hu
Other recommendations of-? fitnes" for' positive vetting
feeling individuals' working "in, tl i a.. ' . .
th
i
e secur
ty and intelligenen. cm
.omissioa - finds 'only.
servi,The ces: are 'that; for positive. one
.individuals should be area in'which the failure;to,t
vetting,
required to agreetoallow take an obvious precaution access fa
to their medical records, and cilitated Prime's espionage. that. -consideration should be This was a failure to check the
giden the .. introduction of , counter on the photocopying
......?h..l....:aa ....r__,n_._.,.t._ n18cj!!94;"which Prime used
tor-ernORTetem-m-mtnirtemr. - , . _ r -i -
Seece and security agencies. the -v vealed and "no me wastente using
ht ei ering
The report says there is no up the register. '
Positive evidence to contradict The commission record., It
Prime's statement that he acted unlikely that this would actually
alenie.' 'berls~have.been
:''ieinvesti=teti; .,:unlikely led' to -Prime's -detectioyir' .
iivdi and `:exteduve saya,ot ~ - "Writribtitioa
to"
"parsons, but-eo:avidenoe bad se anthedl "ov fl'Idnn-gbo ooo by
fir come-to?light,to-euggestthat - pryilie'pas email: ?.?'".,
Prime had an atxomplia?or Tjse'Prime Minister said that
that. the. Soviet Union- has, or -P
rime's disclosures had caused
ed
, ?Mt~ t source of tnfor- exceptionally grave damage to
'Neverthcles ,thins, the ? '...le' ' the interests of'Britain and its.
Minister said that invesU allies. The Security Com
were continue geitnrta mission's report Is published in
pg'with a yieWoto,'full, with the exception of its
being as certain as possibl0,pgi+appendices which contained
thi The report finds aothi 'tor cfaawwffiied information.
criticize in the activities of ttie ?'K Spokesman at GCHQ said
men who. Carried out Prime's htst"'helm It is the first we
Positive vetting in 1968, 1973 , have'heard of ^ person by. the
19,74 sad 1976,;.?We:emnot Jay and baf BYr but she is not,
the blame for Prime's esppionage and bas'not been and employee
upo? the shoiilder. of`.those here.
retpnpsible.for ha iry ngout oUf+-
Present security procedures. It is
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